You Make My Heart Glow White
by athousandyellowdaisies
Summary: Cora and Hook arrive in Storybrooke and a battle ensues. Cora demands that Hook captures Emma, but that may be Cora's downfall, when he captures Emma's heart as well- even if she can't admit it. True love is uncharted magic, after all. Set after Queen of Hearts.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my first OUAT fic, and my first fic** **in a couple years, so I will gladly accept any criticism and tips people throw at me (as well as praises). I only have the first few chapters in my head, so I am open to minor plot suggestions too, as the story unfolds. It begins after **_**Queen of Hearts**_** (2.09). Emma and the gang are at Granny's, catching up.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything (Except for in my dreams, Killian is all mine).**

"Wait a minute," Ruby laughed, placing another giant platter of fries on the table and sitting down next to Emma, "You fired a gun at an ogre and lived to tell the tale?"

"Well, I wouldn't have lasted more than 30 seconds if Mary-Margaret didn't run in like a pro and shoot it down."

"She was always pretty bad-ass like that," Ruby laughed.

"Emma was pretty impressive herself, especially for being out of her element," Snow smiled leaning into her husband, "She outwitted that nasty pirate multiple times."

"Pirate? You mean Captain Hook? He's supposed to be unbeatable! Did you get into a sword fight with him? Grandpa has been teaching me to be knight! I want to fight a pirate," Henry said in awe and excitement.

"Maybe you should keep your battles between you and your school work for now. Have you defeated your math homework yet?"

"No, but you just got home, and considering grandma is my teacher, I was hoping she would let it slide," Henry gave Snow an innocent but hopeful glance.

Just then Charming's phone rang. "Gold, I'm busy. What do you want?"

"I'll tell you what," Snow replied to Henry, "Since I didn't assign the homework, I guess I can't grade it properly. But if I let it slide, you better get an A on your test Friday"

"We'll be there in a second," David said to Gold before hanging up. "Ruby, take Henry somewhere safe, the safest place you know of. Everyone else, come with me."

"What's going on?"

"Hook and Cora are here. They came in on some ship and are now in the town square. Regina and Gold are on it, but they need reinforcements. They are outnumbered. Cora has control of Hook's entire crew."

"Emma, you should go with Henry and Red too," Snow insisted.

"I'm going to fight with my family. That's what families do."

"Alright," Charming grabbed Emma's arm and encouraged her, "then let's go."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Oh, look what we have here," Cora laughed, literally pausing the fighting as she noticed the group closing in on the square, "Snow White, her Prince Charming, and their seven pet dwarves."

"We ain't no pet, witch," Grumpy hissed.

"Don't play into her games," Snow warned.

"You forgot me," Emma declared to Cora, stepping up in front of the group, "Their daughter, the savior."

For just a moment, Emma noticed Cora break composure. Satisfied with that, she broke eye contact to survey the scene. Regina and Gold were back to back, fighting off Hook's crew and attempting to keep Cora and Hook at bay, but it was obvious that they were not going to last much longer without reinforcements. If Gold didn't call when he did, they would both be overpowered by now. And Cora took that brief moment to cue Hook.

"Capture her," Cora yelled to him and restarted the fighting.

"Gladly," Hook raised his eyebrow and ran after Emma.

By the time Emma could react he was almost on her and the crew zoned in on her family and the dwarves. She reached for her sword, but realized she left it at Gold's.

'_Great_,' she thought to herself as her flight instincts kicked in, '_I come to a magic and sword fight equipped with nothing but my bare hands, some savior I am.'_

It was already too late though. Hook had wrapped his arms around her from behind, with his hook dangerously close to her artery.

"It's been too long, love," he whispered in her ear.

"Let me go," she yelled as she bit his arm.

"Ah, ah, ah, love. I know I make you hungry, but that's not the way I would satisfy you. But hush, now is neither the time nor place."

Still fighting to get loose, Emma pleaded, "You're not the one to take order's Captain, why listen to Cora? You're here now, let me go and get your revenge on Go- Rumplestilskin."

"Well you see, lass, I follow Cora because she doesn't betray me. I deliver and she keeps her word, unlike a certain princess that we know. And I still need her. In case you didn't notice, the crocodile has magic, I don't. If I babysit you, Cora will give me the magic I need to skin him."

"I had to do it. I had to get back to my son, just like I need to protect him now. Please, Hook. You must know how it is to need to protect someone. If you really loved this Milah, you know how it feels," she looked up at him, with a pleading stare.

Hook was about to say something, when they heard Henry shout, "Mom!"

Everyone paused, this time by their own will, and turned to see where the noise had come from. Henry was running straight towards the battle, wooden sword in hand. Ruby was chasing after him, but he had almost 60 yards on her.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review, even if it is negative. **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I am figuring out the logistics of this chapter as I write and it may be a bit cheesy, but I am trying to avoid that. Let me know if I cross the border of what is acceptable. It also has quite a bit of plot in relation to other things, but once we get past it, there should be more fun stuff. I hope you enjoy! **

"Henry," Regina screamed, horrified.

"Henry," Emma screamed and wriggled desperately, "Go back! It's too dangerous here."

"No. I'm fighting with my family. You said that's what families do."

"Oh, look at that," Cora's lips twisted into a grin, "You all love each other. Pathetic."

Turning to Regina, Cora continued, "So you came to this bland world to find yourself people who could love you. Your poor mother wasn't enough. You just killed her and started over. Do they even love you, dear? – Oh," she paused, holding back a laugh, "It doesn't matter because you love them. Didn't I teach you anything? Love is weakness!"

"No, it's not," Henry yelled, sword pointed out in Cora's direction, "It's strength!"

Cora smirked and turning to a crewmember, nonchalantly demanded, "Kill him."

"No," Regina and Emma screamed in unison. Regina darted toward Henry and Emma broke free, knocking Hook to the ground with a sudden burst of adrenaline. She ran towards Henry as Hook picked himself off of the ground and headed towards her.

Gold started toward the boy to help him when he noticed Belle peering out the library door, trying to assess what was going on. He knew if Cora realized Belle was there, and even worse, if Cora realized how important Belle was to him, Belle would be in the same position at Henry. While everyone was busy, he slipped out to hide her.

Regina had almost made it to Henry, who was fighting relatively well considering he was wielding a toy sword against a man who had decades of experience, but Cora threw Regina back 20 feet in the air. Regina rolled her landing, allowing her to stand right up and head back towards Henry.

Cora, noticing that the two women were about to double-team the attacker, threw the crewman aside. This caught Regina and Emma's attention and as Cora prepared to throw a terrible curse at the boy, both women dove for him.

They collided in front of him and in the brief moment before the curse hit, Emma pushed Regina out of the way, shouting, "We don't both need to die. Henry needs a mother."

And Emma wrapped herself like a shell around her son as the curse hit. The last thing she was conscious of was multiple people shouting her name before everything went black and her body limp.

But only milliseconds before the curse hit her, something remarkable happened. It was something no one expected, something that no one knew how to react to. It was something that, once again, made everyone hit the pause button on their lives.

When she grabbed Henry, her chest began to glow white and build a force-field-like power around her. The shield she created absorbed much of the curse as it hit, but ultimately shattered, allowing the rest of the curse to hit her. Her body slid, almost in slow motion, to the ground.

Snow and Charming attempted to run to their daughter, but Hook's crew surrounded them. Ruby reached the town square to help, but was immediately surrounded by pirates as well.

"Swan," Hook screamed running past Cora to Emma, while swinging his sword around. As he kneeled down before her, a wooden sword slashed across his cheekbone, leaving a rather nasty bruise and cut combo.

"Leave my mom alone," Henry yelled striking the pirate in the temple.

"I'm trying to help," Hook begged, "I'm trying to help."

This caught Cora's attention and Regina took it as a chance to send a curse hurtling towards her mother.

"No, you're not. You're just a filthy, lying pirate! My mom and grandma told me about you," Henry yelled, winding up to strike him again.

Hook blocked the strike with his hooked hand and took the sword, placing it behind his back. Leaning down to take Emma's pulse, he told the kid, "You'd be wise to let me help her. Oh, Gods- Emma; it's hardly beating."

Cora easily deflected Regina's curse and turned to Hook and Emma, "Oh, what is this? Has the princess stolen the pirate's heart? I expected more from you Hook. You know she will never love you, right? So it'd be better if you just moved away and allowed me to finish my business."

Cora sent another curse at Emma, grinning wickedly, knowing she had won.

"No," Hook screamed, throwing himself in front of the mother and son. Knowing it would be his final moment he, like any pirate would, took what wasn't quite his. He stole a kiss from the princess and waited for it all to end.

That's when it happened again. The glowing started at her chest and her body convulsed, sending out a wave of a white haze that hung there like mist in a valley, suspending the curse in mid air.

"Emma," Hook asked, glancing up. Everyone had their eyes set on the three of them. Emma laid there, much as she had before, on the brink of lifelessness, except a strong, white power seemed to be emanating from and controlled by her chest.

Cora, confused and fed-up sent another curse towards them while Hook was focused on Emma.

"Come on, Swan," he took her pulse again, "You didn't fight this hard for your son, just to die on him did you? Come on!"

He didn't know why, but something told him he should, so he leaned in and kissed her again as Henry pulled Emma's hand to his heart crying, "Come on, mom!"

That's when the fog that had been floating in place suddenly solidified, rising from around everyone and captured the curse and Cora together, forming a solid but translucent spherical cage around the sorceress.

With one last convulsion, Emma's heart stopped.

"We have to get her to the hospital," Hook told Henry, "Take me there."

"What about them," Regina asked pointing to the crewmembers who were back in attack mode.

Hook looked down to the ground and picked up a satchel that Cora had been wearing moments before. Turning towards the crew he said, "Stop fighting, guard Cora and don't let her escape."

The crewmembers instantly created a circle formation around Cora. Snow, Charming, and Ruby ran towards Emma.

"Someone we trust needs to keep an eye out," Charming stated, emphasizing 'trust.'

"Don't worry, we'll do it," Grumpy folded his arms, "Go, quickly."

"Ruby, go find Gold, it looks like we may need his- powers," Charming directed before helping the pirate with his daughter.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"What's the point," David yelled, knocking equipment to the ground, as Emma was being defibrillated, "Her heart stopped."

Snow slapped him across the face, "Don't you give up! Don't you dare give up!"

"She's not gone," Regina said, "It's the curse, but she's not gone. Her chest is still glowing."

"Then break the curse, damn it" David yelled.

"I don't know how. That curse- it would have killed anyone else. I don't understand this white magic."

"Mom, please, try something," Henry begged Regina.

Regina stepped up to Emma and told Whale to stop for a moment. Raising her hands she tried to withdraw the curse from Emma's body, but it just began to make Emma seize.

"Kiss her," Regina said turning to Hook.

Hook had been sitting in the corner of the room, as his mind tried to grasp what had happened, "I feel like you should be informed, there are serious things going on, that we should focus on."

"I agree. I see no reason for that filth to go near my daughter," David snarled.

"Look, the last time he kissed her it saved us all. I don't know why it worked, but it did. We should at least attempt it. Just kiss her while I try to remove the curse."

Hook walked over to Emma, and leaning down part way whispered, "I just want you to know, this isn't my plan, love. So, if you are conscious of this, I'd appreciate it if you don't punch me. You have a pretty mean right hook."

"Hook-"

"Right," he leaned down and kissed the dying princess as Regina tried again.

Emma's seizures turned into giant convulsions and the white glow rose from her chest, flashed, and went out as Regina was thrown to the floor.

"Emma," Snow asked, wide-eyed.

Hook checked her pulse, "It's faint, but her heart beats."

"She's still unconscious though," Whale informed them.

Snow threw herself into Charming's arms, crying, "Thank the Gods."

Henry helped Regina off the ground and hugged, "Thank you, mom. Don't you see now that love really is more powerful?"

Hook was staring down at Emma, scrutinizing everything that had happened since entering this Storybrooke and since meeting Emma.

Snow approached Hook and asked to speak to him outside. Hook nodded and followed her out as Gold came in with Ruby. Both men eyed each other as they were consumed with total loathing.

"It's good to hear Emma has made it," Gold declared to the room.

"No thanks to you," Charming yelled at him.

Ruby ran to Emma's side, to make sure for herself that her best friend's daughter was okay. Satisfied, she turned and hugged David.

"Do you know what happened," Regina asked Gold.

"You mean the white haze that took over the town," Gold asked, "Throwing herself in front of the curse was an action so pure, it could only be caused by one thing: true love. An act of true love is one of the most powerful of magics on its own, but an act of true love performed by the product of true love has uncharted power."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Snow waited until they were out of sight from Emma's room before she spun Hook around and pinned him against the wall with her dagger, "I know you well enough and that you don't do anything without an ulterior motive, so what do you want?"

**AN: So, it didn't turn out quite like I wanted it. I didn't want to remove Gold from the fight, but it was too incoherent with so many things occurring at the same time. I'm hoping to update again within the next week, but I do need to get a considerable amount of work done on a documentary I've been working on. Thanks for reading, and review please (even if it is to tell me you think I'm nonsensical and an awful writer…it's a good thing to be aware of).**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: First off, I would like to thank everyone for the reviews and favorites; I haven't even got into the good parts, so I wasn't expecting that. And I'm updating today, using the holiday as an excuse not to work on my documentary. Second, I realized as I was about to write this that I never read over the last chapter before posting it so, I'm really sorry for the numerous mistakes throughout. I went back and changed the grammatical errors and added some things to improve clarity and make it flow better. I also included Ruby's part, because I apparently forgot all about her. Rereading it may help, but if you don't want to, the biggest difference is that Ruby is now in the hospital room with everyone.**

Taken aback with surprise, Hook hesitated for a moment.

"Answer me," Snow demanded.

Hook smirked, "Ah, so that's where Emma learned it. Not, going to lie though, love. Emma wore it better. I don't truly believe you hate me, plus she did it from behind- I can't begin to explain what that does to a man."

"This is your last chance to speak, Hook. What do you want," Snow growled, while pressing the blade closer to the pirate's neck.

"Bloody hell, what's with the women in your family?"

Snow twisted the blade, digging a pinhole into his jawline and causing a slow drip of blood.

"Look, I don't know if you understand the current situation, but I'm the one that saved her. But, I'll play nice- this time. I want only one thing, the same thing I told you when we met, to get my revenge on the monster that took everything from me- the monster that is feet away from your daughter. If I were you, I would be more worried about him than me, love."

"And why should I trust you? You have betrayed us before."

"Emma betrayed me," Hook yelled, "I was on your side, I did everything I was asked. The only thing I wanted in return was to come along. She locked me up. She left me there to die. She left me there for Cora to find me. She made me choose between death and helping Cora."

Snow hesitated, but did not loosen her grip on the pirate, "Then why save her? Why not let Cora kill her? You risked your life for her as soon as you got here."

"Look, I had no stakes in Cora's battle. I just had to help her get to Regina and she promised to give me the magic I need to get my revenge. She told me to hold Emma back from the battle, so I did, no questions asked."

"You're lying," Snow snarled, pressing the blade so hard, Hook had to raise his chin higher to avoid being cut again.

"I'm not in the best position to lie to you, am I?"

"You've lied to us before. You always have a backup plan. So why not go after Gold now?"

"I'm not looking for that kind of treasure- gold and gems are for boring pirates. I'm just after some hide."

"I mean Rumpelstiltskin. Why not go after Rumpelstiltskin now?"

"Well, by the looks of it, he has all of you as allies. It makes me wonder if I should trust any of you. And- if you haven't noticed, love, Emma imprisoned Cora, so I don't have the magic, now do I?"

"We're not his allies. And then why did you save Emma? How you tell it, there's nothing in it for you."

"I like a fair fight, Emma came to the battle empty-handed. Against magic, that's not a fair fight. And the lad- he had nothing to do with the fight. Even pirates have a code."

"I'm not buying it, Hook. Just because you wouldn't kill them, doesn't mean you would save them, not when everything you want is at stake. You have one more chance to make me believe you."

Hook hesitated. He couldn't explain it to Snow, because he couldn't quite explain it to himself. At first he went after Emma because it was his duty to capture her, but he didn't know what made him jump in front of her.

"I-I don't know. Emma's boyo means as much to her as my revenge means to me. I can see it. A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets, but Emma will fight to the bloody end. I respect that. She deserves what she fights for. It wasn't my plan to save her, it just happened."

"And the kiss?"

"If I'm going to die, it might as well be with a treasure."

Just then, Ruby popped out, "Hey, Emma's awake," and noticing the scene before her, she added, "Whoa, is everything okay?"

Not moving the dagger nor her eyes, Snow answered, "Yeah, I'll be in momentarily. Do me a favor and go back inside?"

"Okay," Ruby replied shooting Hook a look that expressed confusion, lust, pity, and amusement before heading back inside.

When Snow heard the door shut, she moved the dagger away from his neck and slapped him across the face before sneering, "My daughter is not pirate's booty; do you hear?"

Hook couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Snow shot him a look warning him not to comment and pointed towards the room, "Lucky for you, Emma is the sheriff here and not I. You get to answer to her."

Hook looked at her and then to Rumplestiltskin, "I can't go in there."

Snow looked up and realized what he meant, "There is very little chance that he'll hurt you if you're with us. Mind your manners and he should mind his-"

"Now, now, Miss Blanchard," Gold came out, followed by Regina "No reason at all to worry, I am choosing to leave civilly- for now. Regina and I are going to check on Cora's- situation."

Snow nodded and pushed the pirate back into the room. Emma looked up, disappointed when it was he who entered. "What's he doing here," she sat up defensively.

Right away she realized that she had moved too quickly, as a dizzy spell hit her.

"Emma," David rushed to her side with a glass of water.

"Thanks. What's he doing here," she repeated.

"Emma, he saved your life, yours and Henry's. And then he helped you save all of us with true love's kiss, trapping Cora in a giant magic bubble," Ruby almost sang with a wide smile across her face.

The entire room seemed to focus on Ruby. Some were shocked, some disgusted, and some rather pleased by the matter-of-fact statement.

"True love? Please-"

"Emma's right," Snow agreed with Emma's reaction, "I think there is something more going on here."

"And my daughter wouldn't be foolish enough to fall for a pirate. Especially one that does deals with Cora," David said angrily, though not angry with Ruby.

"But he saved us. All of us," Henry interrupted.

"And it's not like he looks like an ogre," Ruby raised her eyebrows at Emma.

"He acts like one, though," Emma replied.

"Come, now. Play nice, love," Hook smirked at Emma and then addressed the room, "And it's not her fault she fell in love with me, no woman can resist my charm."

"I think I did a pretty swell job resisting your– charm, did you call it?- when I tied you up for the ogres, when I locked you up on the beanstalk, when I knocked you out cold- should I continue?"

On the last one, Hooks eyebrows raised in amusement, "So you're still in denial, then? Tell me when you're ready then, love. I'll let you take a ride on my ship."

David took a lunge at Hook, when Snow held him off, took the pirate by the collar, and explained, "I told him that since you're sheriff, you decide his fate."

"I say we throw him in a jail cell and be done with him."

"Come on, lass. You can't do that. I've done no wrong."

"Aided and abetted a criminal," David answered.

"The way I see it, Emma and I were just enjoying some alone time, she ran away because I was too much for her," Hook winked at Emma before continuing, "We shared a few passionate kisses and I saved all of your lives. I deserve an award if you ask me."

"Ruby," Emma asked, "Can you take Henry and Hook outside, so I can talk to Mary-Margaret and David?"

"Can we trade the lad for some ties, sheriff? I think this one here is into that sort of thing," Hook said winking at Ruby.

Ruby tried to control the smile that was making its way across her face, "Sure thing, Emma."

Once they left, Emma turned to her parents, "What are we going to do?"

"Oh Emma, I was so scared. Your heart stopped beating" Snow hugged her daughter, "Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, what was that about in the hall?"

"Oh, I was just getting some information out of him, and warning him."

"About what?"

"It doesn't matter. So what _are_ we going to do with him?"

"Drown him. It's poetic justice," David offered.

"I wish it were that simple. Unfortunately, I don't think that is in my job description. I can't just throw him in jail, either. He was right when he said he didn't do anything wrong, plus if Cora got out of this- 'Magic Bubble'- that Ruby was talking about, she'd have an easy time getting to him. We need him somewhere that we can keep an eye on him," Emma replied.

"What about Granny's," Snow offered, "I'm sure Red can keep an eye on him."

"That's not a bad idea. The only problem is, I don't like the idea of him wandering around town. There is so much he can get into, especially with the town still in dismay. And I feel bad making Ruby babysit the pirate."

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind," Snow nodded toward the window leading to the hallway, where Ruby was giggling at the pirate like a schoolgirl.

Emma raised her eyebrows, disappointed, "I guess we got that part covered then. What about keeping him there?"

"House arrest. Handcuff him to the bed. I'm sure he'll like that," David said.

"That doesn't sound half bad. How long do you think we can have him on house arrest for?"

"He's a pirate. It's only a matter of time until he does something to extend his stay."

"It's settled then. Bring Ruby in so I can make sure it's all right. I feel fine enough to do it now. Can you stay out there with the boys?"

"Are you sure, honey," Snow asked, "Maybe you should sleep. We can do it."

"And miss the look on his face? No way!"

"Okay."

When Ruby walked in she looked from Emma to David and asked David if he could give her and Emma a moment alone. Hesitantly, David obliged.

"Oh my Gods! Emma! You need to get with him like now."

"Who? Hook? Give me one good reason that I would want to do that."

"I can give you three just off the top of my head. One, do you see how sexy he is? Two, his smile and the way he talks are mesmerizing. And three, if you don't soon, I'm not sure I can hold out."

"What!?"

"I'm sorry. I know he's your true love, but-"

"He's not my true love. You can have him. I just expected better from you."

"Emma-"

"Actually, you should like this. If it is okay with you and Granny, we decided that the best thing to do with him is to keep him on house arrest- handcuffed to his bed at Granny's and you guys can keep an eye on him."

"Why don't you just handcuff him to your bed instead?"

"Because then I'd have a smart-ass pirate handcuffed to my bed."

"And all the other girls would be jealous."

Emma rolled her eyes at her.

"Come on, Emma, you had to have had at least one pirate fantasy. Everyone has."

"Yes, Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Oh come on, Killian is so much sexier, but fine, just don't complain when I steal your true love."

"Killian?"

"That's his name," she said in the teenage 'duh' voice and Emma raised her eyebrows.

"Well, then you guys head over to Granny's and I'll grab my cuffs and be right over."

"Oh, your dad has them."

"Well, then let's go."

"Uh, Emma- You might want to put real clothes on first."

Looking down and noticing the hospital gown, Emma had to agree with her friend on that point, "Okay, give me a sec."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As they were headed out of the hospital, Emma had David secretly hand over her handcuffs, '_Ha, the bastard won't even see it coming._'

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Emma, love. What do you have in store for me? I feel like I'm being led to my execution with this parade of your family behind us."

"It is a pity we stopped hanging pirates," she smirked at him, "You get to stay at our local inn, and Ruby, here, is going to be your babysitter."

"Oh, but can't you stay too," he asked placing his hand around her waist, "I promise I won't play favorites. Your parents and boy have to go though, that's too kinky for me."

"Get your hand off me," she shoved it away, "Oh, look, we're here."

They walked in and Granny signed the pirate in, shaking her head in a disapproving manner the entire time, "Serving pirates. What is this, a brothel?"

"Ooh, do you have one of those here? I'd much rather stay there- friendlier sort of people. They say anything you like and they don't make you work for it," Hook smiled, playing with a lock of Emma's hair.

Emma swatted his hand away and elbowed him in the gut, "Sorry about this Granny; it's just until we find somewhere to send him."

Granny sighed and told the pirate, "Ruby and Emma can show you to your room."

They headed up the stairs and showed him his room and how to work the things in it, like indoor plumbing and light switches, when Emma turned to Ruby and asked, "Hey, Ruby, can you give us a minute?"

Ruby smiled, walking out, and shutting the door. Emma turned to Hook, putting her hand on his chest and pushing him onto the bed, "You were right. I want you. I hated seeing you flirt with Ruby."

She crawled on top, straddling him, and whispered in his ear, "But my parents can't know. Shh, it'll be our little secret."

Emma pushed his chest down onto the bed, sliding her hand up from his chest to his neck and further until she finally held his head in her hand and placed a soft kiss on his bottom lip. He let out a little moan, "Bloody, damn well time."

She smiled and kissed him again, this time deep and greedily, slipping one cuff around his wrist while he was distracted. '_Now just to get the other one around the post_.'

Emma slid her tongue into his mouth, swiping it gently over his, and drawing another moan out of him. She rolled them over until his arm was near the head of the bed and reached for the other cuff, but before she could grab it, he had flipped them over and cuffed her to him.

"You pirate! You bastard! You dirty, pirate bastard!"

"Me? You're the one that was trying to play me, love. Seduce me just so you can arrest me? Only a pirate or a wench could come with that, and you were awful at the seducing, so you must be fit to be a pirate."

"I am not bad at seducing," she punched him.

"Don't tell me mum or dad? What is that? The twelve year old virgin?"

"It doesn't matter, because I have the key and I can still handcuff you here," Emma felt for the key in her jacket pocket, but couldn't find it.

"You mean this, love," Hook dangled the key in her face, "I took it off you while you were thinking about that threesome. It must be the dirty pirate bastard in me."

"Give it back," she grabbed for it, but missed.

"Nope," he put it in his mouth.

"Don't you dare," she warned.

"Or what," he asked.

"I'll kill you!"

"I'd like to see you try," he smiled, swallowing the key.

"What the hell did you do that for? Now we are stuck together until you digest the key, if all the rum in there doesn't destroy it first."

"Well, you weren't bad at the whole kissing part, why don't you try to save it with your tongue?"

**AN: I'm not going to lie, this didn't even sort of go where I thought it was going to. I had up through Snow's interrogation planned and thought I would go with the flow from there, and I ended up here somehow. I hope you liked it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Good news- I decided to update and pretend like my documentary doesn't exist for another night. From this point on, I'm making it up as I go (except a few random scenes I have in my head), so I'm just as excited to see where it goes as you. This one won't be as lighthearted as the others; there is a lot of anger that is building up on most sides.**

Emma, furious, punched the pirate again and stood up from the bed. "I'm sure David has another key," she informed him, pulling him with her, before flinching from pain.

"Take it easy, lass. You're going to break both of our wrists. Here," he said taking her hand in his. "Now you won't hurt us when you decide to walk away in a haughty rage."

Emma sighed, but knew he was right. Holding hands with him would pull on his body instead of both their wrists, "Fine, it doesn't matter. You'll be cuffed to the bed soon enough."

"As long as you're there, love," he winked and she rolled her eyes.

Emma led Hook down the stairs to where her family was waiting. David, upon seeing her, began "Emma are you ready?" And upon seeing Hook, finished with, "What is he doing here?"

Emma held up their arms, releasing Hook's hand in the process. Hook looked at her family, who were shooting eye-daggers at him and to Ruby, who sported a smile full of innuendo before he answered, "She tried to ravish me up there. I had no choice but to arrest her."

David's face turned into a full snarl. Emma let a small smirk of amusement creep on her face before returning to her state of anger. Ruby looked as if she were about to burst with excitement for Emma. Even Snow, at this point, looked half amused.

"The filthy pirate figured out my plan and, like a child, decided to cuff me to him and swallow the key."

"Why do you keep calling me dirty and filthy? I bathe quite regularly, I'll have you know," Hook pouted before turning to Emma and adding, "And it looks like you'll have the honor of joining me tonight."

Emma raised an eyebrow at him, shook her head in annoyance, and asked, "David, do you know where the spare key is?"

David looked down at his feet and grimaced, "I actually lost the other in the mines when we had to save Belle. The spare key, I'm afraid, is the one making its way down his esophagus."

Emma let out a whine, "You didn't make another? But there's another way, right?"

"We can always just cut his hand off. He won't be any problem with no hands," David offered.

Hook's smug grin was momentarily replaced by a flicker of fear and then hate until Emma replied, "Not helping. What we need is magic. Let's check in on Regina and Gold."

And in a moment Hook's face turned to stone, "Emma, please, I can't confront him yet."

"I actually think he's right, Emma," Snow agreed.

"What," her husband asked incredulously.

"To avoid trouble, you and I can talk to Gold and Regina. Emma, and I guess Hook, can take Henry home. It's getting late."

"But-," Emma whined.

"Maybe it's better he's handcuffed to you, dear," Granny interjected. "That way he can't go making a mess of this town."

"Why do I always have to miss the good stuff," Henry whined.

"Because you're ten and have a bedtime," Snow replied in a very motherly tone.

Emma sighed and put her hand on Henry's shoulder, leading him out, "Come on kid, maybe your book can tell me how to get out of this one."

Being pulled behind, Hook laced his hand with Emma's again, when Ruby stepped in front of Emma, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Don't worry. I won't. I also won't do the things you would," Emma rolled her eyes.

"Aw, come on, you have a sexy pirate at your mercy and soon to be in your bed."

"She's right, love," Hook smiled.

"Ew," Henry scrunched his nose. "I'm ten, remember? And you guys keep talking about my mom."

"Sorry, Henry," Ruby ruffled his hair.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"So this is the princess' house that she was so desperate to get back to? It's a bit small, innit? I quite prefer the castle, if I do say so myself."

"That's because you're a pirate. You wouldn't know what real treasure is."

"Are you always this bitter and angry, love? It can't be healthy."

"No," Henry answered for her. "Only to Rumpelstiltskin, my mom, and people she's afraid to get close to, like you."

"Henry-"

"I thought Emma was your mum."

"She is. I kinda have two moms. Regina adopted me when I was a baby. Emma gave me away because she wanted me to have my best chance. But I found her because we all needed her to break the curse. She pretended not to like me too, when she first met me. But it turns out, it was because she was afraid to get close to me."

"Kid, this is different. He's not a good person," Emma looked concerned.

"He can be. I reread his story when you were in the hospital. He wasn't bad, not really. Not until Rumpelstiltskin came along. He was just a normal pirate. Just give him a chance."

"Why?"

"Because he's like you. You pretend to be hostile when you're afraid of getting close to people. He pretends to be a heartless pirate only interested in – well, in sex- when he's afraid of getting close to people."

"Henry!"

"They teach us about sex in school, you know. I know what he's been talking about the whole time."

"I think it's time for you to go to bed."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Turn around. I need to undress. I haven't showered since I got to the Enchanted Forest."

"Shower?"

"The stand-up bath Ruby and I showed you."

"Emma, love, I'm going to see anyway. I have to go in the- shower- with you."

"That's what the shower curtain is for. You're standing outside it," Emma stated as she began taking her jacket off.

"That's so wasteful. And we both have to stand around pretending we're not looking past the curtain, while the other finishes. And you have my only hand. I'll need your help. So don't you see, it's just easier if we shower together."

"Um, Hook, there's not going to be any showering. I can't get my jacket or shirt off. The cuffs are in the way."

"Oh, I seemed to have forgotten to consider that minor detail. Looks like I have to bathe you, then. Do you have a cloth, love," Hook asked with a wicked grin.

Biting her lip and closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, trying to regain composure, "Wait, I can hang the clothes on your arm, you just need to keep them out of the shower."

Hook's smile turned to a pout, "One day, love, you won't be able to deny your attraction anymore. I mean, your heart did do the strange, white glow-y thing for me."

"You don't have any effect on my heart," she snorted.

"Your heart seems to think otherwise. Besides, it matters not, to me, how I affect your heart, just down here," he smiled, bringing her in close and sliding his hook up her inner thigh.

Her breath hitched and her back arched slightly before she realized what was happening and swatted him away. Getting in his face, she threatened, "Hands- and hook- off or I take you straight to Gold."

"Oh, she's angry again," he scoffed. Inching in closer, he offered, "I can show you a great stress reliever."

"I owe a debt to Gold. I'm sure he'll gladly take you to clear it," she sneered with her nose touching his, before realizing how close she was and pulling back with a look of total disgust.

"Well, now, I think it's time we call a truce. I will be a good pirate if you attempt to be tolerable," Hook said feeling defeated, more by her actions than words.

Emma's first instinct was to yell at him, but she sighed, "Fine, but you will be respectful around my son too."

"You have yourself a deal, Swan."

Emma grabbed a towel and began undressing the best she could, though she did need Hook's help getting her jeans off. He made a quick comment about how unfair it was that he got her out of her pants and gets nothing for it, before lowering his head and sighing an apology. They had an unspoken agreement from then on to avoid any conversation and eye contact.

Emma's shower went fairly well and Hook did his best to not look, though he couldn't help it a of couple times. He was surprised by what he saw when he did look, though. Besides a beautiful woman- and he rarely used words like 'beautiful' to describe women- he saw her looking so vulnerable. He could tell, by how defensive she was, that underneath she was vulnerable, but to see it painted all over her face in a moment that should have been private to her was almost painful to him.

Hook honestly tried to do everything himself, but only having a hook to undress yourself and shower is one hell of a task. Emma helped him out of his pants, jacket, and shirt and then into the shower. He tried then to wash himself, but ended up only knocking everything into the tub and soaking his jacket. Refusing to look at him, she turned off the water, grabbed a washcloth, squeezed some body wash on it and put it in his hand. Turning toward his hand, and thus towards her, he began to wipe off the dirt and problems of the day. Normally he would have hundreds of comments in this situation, but his heart wasn't in it. So he continued their silence.

After he dried off, slung his shirt and jacket back on, and they wrapped a towel around his waist, Emma led him downstairs to Mary-Margret and David's room, where Henry was asleep on the bed. She kissed the boy's forehead and then found Hook some of David's pyjama pants.

"These should be more comfortable than leather," she whispered, still refusing to look him in the eye. She actually felt a bit bad for being so hard on him. She expected him to fight back, not give in so easily.

"Thanks," he whispered back, having some issues putting them on, but accomplishing it without Emma's help.

"Let's call it a night. Okay," she asked.

He nodded and she led him back upstairs. When they got to the room she looked at the bed and he looked to her, "You don't have to worry. I'll stay out of the way. I can even sleep on the floor."

"Is that what you think of me," Emma risked a hurt glance up.

He looked into her eyes and said, "Honestly, I don't know what to think."

"There's plenty of room on the bed- as long as you don't snore," she attempted a joke to clear some of the tension from the room.

Hook gave a half-hearted smile, but it wasn't the same smile she was used to. They both laid down on the bed and she pulled the cover over them, "Believe me, you'll want it. It gets cold here at night."

Hook thanked her and she turned out the light.

**AN: Oh my god, so while I was writing this, the song "We Belong" (Pat Benatar) came up on my playlist and I began silently (it was 3:30 am…) rocking out to it, when I realized it epitomizes Hook and Emma's near future (at least the one in my mind). That may seem irrelevant to you, but it excited me. I hope you liked this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry, there isn't much to this chapter. I just wanted to post something so you know that I'm not abandoning it. Unfortunately, I have somehow found a way to fall miserably behind in homework the first week of class. I definitely do not plan to abandon this, it just might be a bit longer between updates.**

Cora whittled away at her magical prison with heavy curses. Her body floated in a meditative position as she gathered all her willpower and strength for each new curse.

She had initially tried a series of random curses in her rage, but those had only reflected off of the sphere and hit her, burning into her skin like acid. Each one weakened her physically, but provided more motivation.

She then tried threatening the crew and dwarves, but without a magical presence over them, they would not help her. Hook was the master of the crew, now that he had their hearts.

That's when she decided to sit and enter a meditative state. She thought of curses she could use to escape- if only she understood the magic that Emma was using, she could crush her. At the sound of Snow, Charming, Regina, and Gold coming from down the street, she opened her eyes. That's when she saw the black smoke pouring for her body and slowly disintegrating her prison.

She closed her eyes again, despite the threat, and focused all of her hate into the burning fire in her chest that fueled the smoke. The bubble began to thin exponentially, but it refused to burst. The last layer remained intact no matter how much willpower she gathered.

The group was approaching the square at a quickened pace, now that they saw her plan, when a crewmember tilted his head slightly and smiled at her.

"Don't worry Cora, I'm here to help you if you hold out your side of the deal. I'm chained to the Swan girl but my trusty boatswain, Skylights here, will help you."

Skylights blasted the bubble with a bomb and Cora fell to the ground, free.

"Stop," Regina yelled, but it was too late.

Cora had already sent a curse hurtling at them and freezing the magic of Regina and Gold. In half a moment the crew was all over them. Cora then glided toward her daughter, who was flailing as the crew pinned her to the ground.

"You should never have tried to defeat me. Did you think Swan's pathetic attempt at magic could hold long? All I wanted was for you to be all that you could- a chance for us to be happy together. I came here looking for you, hoping we could get another shot. Look at the people here! They are pathetic. We could have them all at our mercy. We could have everything. But I see that as long as all of these distractions are in the way, you will never let yourself have it. I am sorry, my dear, but what I am doing is for your own good. I will tell the boy you love him before he dies, though."

Regina managed to gather enough adrenaline to get off the ground and begin to scream and thrash at her mother, but the crew threw her against the ground again, knocking her unconscious.

"Do not kill her, just contain her. I don't care what you do to the others, they are of no importance."

Skylights led Cora toward Emma's apartment where everyone but Hook was asleep. She broke in with ease and walked over to the boy.

"Wake up!"

Henry awoke instantly and let a muffled gasp escape before screaming for his mother.

This woke Emma, but before she could react, Hook was over her with his hand around her neck.

"Henry," she screamed until Hook shoved a pillow over her face.

"There's no use, love. Cora's already killed him by now."

Emma started thrashing harder but was losing all oxygen quickly.

"Oh. Don't worry, it's you turn now."

Hook pressed the pillow harder against her face and slowly every thing went black.

Everything went black and still.

Except it wasn't still.

She was shaking. It was still black, but she was shaking.

No. She wasn't shaking; someone was shaking her. But it was still black.

They weren't just shaking her; they were calling her name. They were frantically calling her name in the darkness.

'_So this is death_,' she thought. '_I guess I should have believed in afterlife.'_

Even so, she didn't think she was in Hell. It was hot. It was really hot and dark, but she wasn't burning and she wasn't scared. But, for some reason, she knew she should be. Why did she need to be scared? She tried to connect the pieces: She had died- she had died because she was trying to protect someone. She was trying to protect- protect her son- protect Henry.

'_Henry_,' she thought.

She heard her name called continuously and frantically. The voice was familiar. Maybe it was Henry trying to find her. But it was so dark and hot and she was shaking- she'd never find him. But she had to!

"Henry," she called out loud.

"Emma, open your eyes. Come on! Open your eyes," she heard the voice much closer.

Were her eyes closed? She hadn't noticed. Would it make a difference in the dark? But the dark was slowly becoming lighter and the voice came closer- to her ear.

"Emma, wake up!"

"Henry," she cried again as she finally opened her eyes.

"Emma," Hook sighed in relief, setting her up and testing her temperature with his lips against her forehead again.

"Hook," Emma asked, tears pouring from her eyes.

"It was a nightmare, a bloody nasty one, from the sound of it. You're burning up and you were yellin' out Henry's name. I tried waking you but I couldn't. You gave me an awful fright," Hook told her as he rubbed her shoulder with his hook.

It was cool against her burning skin- soothing. She looked at the time. They had only been asleep for an hour or so. He whispered that everything would be okay and she, for some reason, believed him. She knew she looked ridiculous and pathetically weak, but she didn't care for once. That dream had been so real and frightened the hell out of her.

She wasn't a big human-contact person, in fact, unless it was Henry or Mary-Margaret, she avoided it at all costs- and even with them she was uncomfortable. And yet, she found herself leaning into the pirate, with her head resting on his shoulder.

He didn't even take advantage of the situation. He held her and reassured her. But by her forehead against his neck, he knew her temperature was still way too high.

Taking her hand he helped her up and led her to the bathroom, having her lean backward against the sink.

"What's going on," she asked.

"We need to bring your fever down some," he replied, grabbing a cloth from where she procured one earlier, and wetting it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She hesitated as he turned, facing her. He rested his hook on her waist and brought the cloth to her forehead, causing her to let out a sigh.

"Come on, it'll help."

"Why are you being so nice?"

"We just made a deal didn't we? We both have to be nice until we go our separate ways."

After another moment's hesitation, they headed back toward the bed and she began to explain her dream. When she got to the part with Henry, a new wave of tears washed over her.

"I'm sorry. I'm not normally this pathetic," she sniffed, wiping back tears.

"Well, I was a nasty bugger in that dream of yours."

This comment elicited a small smile from her.

"Will it make you feel better to check on him," he asked, taking the cloth off her face.

After a moment of looking up at him, trying to control the contradicting emotions, she nodded yes.

"Alright," he replied, wiping away a tear as he caressed her cheek.

She jerked back from the intimacy of the situation, but he didn't let go of her.

"Calm down, I'm just testing your fever," he rolled his eyes playfully as he leaned down to press his lips against her forehead. "It's gone down a lot. Come on."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When they reached Henry's bed, Emma slid right on and pulled her sleeping child close to her, kissing his head.

"You really care about him, don't you?"

Emma glanced up at Hook.

"It must be really awful having to share him with Regina- and then being away for so long in another world-"

Emma didn't respond, she just laid down on the bed and wrapped her arms around Henry, which pulled the pirate closer as well.

"Emma, love, why don't we just sleep here? Then you don't have to worry about him tonight."

Emma, finally able to organize- though not deal with- her emotions and thoughts, laid a moment longer, before looking up at Hook. Agreeing, she thanked him and laid back down.

He smiled in reply and tried to lie down as well, but considering the angle Emma held his arm at, it was near impossible to get comfortable. He tried sleeping on his back for a while, but his arm began to go numb.

He slipped their arms down a bit, allowing her to still hold the boy, but also giving him more maneuverability.

"Are you okay," she asked softly.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. My arm had gone numb."

He twisted to the one side, as if he were to spoon her, but held his distance. But then he began to slip, so he set his hooked arm on Emma's waist for a moment to catch himself, immediately realizing what he was doing, and then pulled back.

But Emma caught his hook with her fingers, holding it in place. Smiling, she told him, "It's alright. It's not like I'm leaving many comfortable options available for you."

"Thanks," he replied, smiling and then scooting to a comfortable position, that happened to be a bit closer to her. He let the fragrance of her coconut shampoo wash over him and he was aware of how unsettlingly comfortable this was as it lulled him to sleep.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Snow and Charming returned about an hour after the others were asleep. They walked toward the bed and found the three cuddled close together. Charming's first instinct was to pull the pirate away from his family, but Snow stopped him, telling him there wasn't much they could do and reminded him that everyone needed to get some sleep. Kissing him on the cheek, she led her husband up to Emma's bed to finally get a good night's sleep- or at least a few hours anyway.

**AN: I hope you enjoyed it! Remember to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: My deepest apologies for taking so long to update. I've had a crazy-busy semester that I wasn't prepared for. Now I am on spring break so I am pretending I have time to update, and if I get a significant enough amount of homework done, I will update again before classes start. I just want everyone to know I am not planning to abandon this, even if it takes me a bit to update. Thanks for all of the great reviews and enjoy!**

"I don't like it," Charming said defensively as they walked down the stairs a mere five hours after they had finally fell into bed."

Snow shushed him before whispering, "Let them sleep. And Emma had no choice but to share a bed with him, they're handcuffed together."

They walked over to the bed and looked over their daughter, grandson, and the pirate. "I just wish he didn't enjoy it so much. Look at his smug face."

"I don't know, I think he just looks peaceful. All of them do, for once," Snow smiled to herself.

"You can't tell me you support this-"

"Of course not. But Charming, he did save her life. We do owe him some of our respect."

"I think it's enough that I let him live."

"Charming," Snow rolled her eyes, as she playfully pushed him away. "Go start breakfast. I'll wake Henry for school."

"Fine," he submitted and headed to the kitchen.

Snow sat on the bed, placing a hand on Henry's shoulder and quietly shaking him awake. When he began to awaken she whispered, "Henry, wake up, sweetie. It's time to get ready for school."

Still half asleep, Henry stretched his arms, whacking Emma right in the face and waking her. "Sorry mom."

Yawning, Emma told him, "S'okay, kid. I need to get up anyway. There is a lot to clean up around here." Then, she noticed the confusingly pleasant sensation of a warm, steady breath upon her neck and realized she was spooning with Hook. She looked to her mom to see if she noticed, who just smiled at her, before Emma elbowed Hook in the stomach. "Rise and shine, captain."

"Bloody Hell, woman!"

"You need to wake up so we can undo this mess you made."

"Wake up would have worked."

"You said you like to have fun in bed. Well, that was fun for me."

"Your vindictive tendencies are a major turn on," he smirked while stroking her upper thigh.

"Henry," Snow whispered, trying to get him away from the current situation. "Why don't you go get ready for school and then go into the kitchen and help David make breakfast?"

"Ok," he headed upstairs.

"My vindictive tendencies," she asked, rather wrapped up in her own conversation and knocking Hook's arm away before maneuvering herself in a way, which they were then sitting side-by-side instead of spooning. "I'm not the one who is holding a 300-year-long grudge."

"Guys, you can either continue to bicker or I can tell you what happened last night," Snow scolded them.

"Did they say they would unlock us," Emma asked hopefully.

"Well, no," Snow looked nervously.

"Seriously," Emma sighed, banging her head against the headboard. "And why ever not?"

"Well, Mr. Gold said that his truce with Hook was only due to the fact that there were more important issues at hand, but he said to assure you that you no one will have to deal with Hook after Cora is taken care of, so you just have to wait it out and he'll take care of him."

Hook shifted nervously, "Emma, you have to let Cora free so I can get the magic she promised and finish Gold before he kills me."

"We're not letting Cora free. She's going to kill everyone. If anything, we have to kill her," Snow interrupted, not quite sure she supported everything she said.

"Are you guys insane? Is this whole town insane? We're not freeing Cora. You're not killing Gold. Gold is not going to kill you. And we're not going to kill Cora. No wonder the Grimm brothers decided to keep you guys all separate."

"Emma, that cell isn't going to hold forever. We don't even know what kind of magic you used. And Cora will find a way to break it."

"Hold on," Hook started. "Swan, you can give me the magic to destroy Rumplestilskin. Then no one has to worry about that monster again."

"No one is killing anyone! And I don't even know how to use that magic. It uses itself."

"Hey, guys," David cut in, nervous about all the yelling. "Breakfast is almost ready."

"We'll be there in a second," Snow replied.

"What about Regina," Emma sighed.

"She said she already did her part in helping you, twice yesterday and she doesn't see how this is remotely important enough to stop keeping an eye on her mom."

"Is anyone even paying attention so that Regina and Gold aren't scheming up with Cora and this isn't all a big trick? I mean those two don't have the best track record."

"Grumpy- Leroy said that Cora keeps trying to break Regina, telling her that no one here cares about her and that Henry doesn't want her. Emma, I'm going to bring Henry over there before school today. Regina needs to know that Henry cares for her. We can't let Regina join Cora's side."

"Cora said that her plan was to break Regina, make Regina need her," Hook pitched in.

"Did she say how?"

"No. I didn't really care either way, as I said, I have no stake in Cora's plans."

"I think you should too, Mary-Margret," Emma said changing the subject back. "I'm not going to keep Henry from her, like she did to me. It's just going to make Henry hate me. As long as he's supervised- I mean, she does love him. She wouldn't hurt him, right?"

Snow stroked her daughter's cheek and smiled, "You really are turning into a great mother."

Henry ran back over, "Guys, breakfast is getting cold!"

OoOoOoOoOo

"What the bloody hell is this," Hook asked, picking up the spray butter.

"It's butter," Henry laughed at him, causing Hook to look more confused.

Emma, also laughing, took the butter from him and sprayed it on his pancakes, "It's so you don't have to spread it or wait for it to melt."

"Your world is quite strange, I must say," he smiled at her, while cutting a piece of pancake with his fork.

As Hook raised his hand to his mouth, Emma's had to follow. With an evil grin, Emma waited until the pancake was almost in his mouth before yanking her arm and almost causing him to go head first into the pancakes.

"Hey," he called, shoving her with his upper arm.

"Emma," Snow exclaimed, as everyone laughed.

"That was for grabbing my ass when we got the orange juice."

"You didn't seem to mind it then," he put on his best smoldering face.

Sensing the amount of self control it was taking her husband to not attack Hook, Snow changed the conversation, "Hey, Henry, it's almost time to leave for school. I'll walk you. David, you should come with us, and get an update on Cora. Maybe even set up a shift system, so some of those poor dwarves and Hook's crew can get some rest."

"And make Emma suffer the pirate alone? Plus, the crew won't leave with Hook in control of them, Hook has to do that."

"That reminds me," Hook said to David coolly, before turning back to Emma and Snow, "I have to give me men back their hearts."

"But then how will we get them to watch Cora? How do we know they won't join Cora," Snow asked.

"Did you have to steal the hearts of your kingdom for them to follow you? I don't need my men's hearts because I have treated them well and justly and for that I have their unwavering loyalty."

Emma allowed herself to catch his eye and smile at him. Snow, watching, smiled too. She hadn't expected that much from a pirate, especially one with a reputation like Hook's.

"See, I told you he wasn't bad," Henry butted in, smiling as well.

"We should all head out," David interrupted the moment.

"Right," Snow agreed.

OoOoOoOo

"Why are we taking the long way to school," Henry asked.

"Emma and I thought you might want to see Regina before going to school. We know this has all been tough. And she misses you."

"Really? Thanks! I'm really glad that she's trying to be good."

"She's doing it all for you. She really does love you. You're the first person I've seen her love in a long time. You're something really special," Snow replied, pulling Henry into a hug.

"Mom," Henry shouted, running up to give her a hug when they got to the square.

"Henry," Regina asked, looking up at Snow and David.

"Emma and I thought that it's been too long since you two spent time together. We have 20 minutes before we have to go to school."

Holding Henry to her, Regina whispered a thank you.

OoOoOoOo

"So what's the plan today? I need to stop in at the sheriff's station and see what kind of messes I have to clean up, figure out what to do with Cora, and figure out how to free us. You should eat more, maybe we'll get that key back sooner."

"And who's going to fish it out of the toilet?"

"You're the one with the hook. Not to mention, the reason why we have to fish it out of the toilet."

"If you hadn't tried to arrest me-" Hook leaned in, trying to be charming.

"Well, if you could behave yourself-" Emma leaned in too, battling his charm with annoyance.

"What if I don't want to behave myself," he asked, pulling her of her stool and closer to him.

Emma pulled in a deep breath and stared into his eyes, until she noticed her desire to look down at his lips, and then promptly pushed herself away before she let it happened. "We had a truce. I thought you were going to stop that."

"Well, you see, love, your eyes and mouth are saying two very different things and I'm not sure which to listen to."

"I think you're mistaken. Both my eyes and mouth are saying 'no.'"

"The sad thing is, you actually believe that."

"Hook-"

Hook was about to make another comment before he looked into Emma's eyes and sighed, "Sorry. I uh- I also have to return the hearts to my men."

"Right. Well, that sounds the easiest. Let's start there. Then we can head to the sheriff building and figure the rest out."

"Fine. But, Emma, I have to pee. How exactly are we doing this?"

OoOoOoOoOo

Regina returned Henry to Snow 20 minutes later, after going to Granny's for a juice date.

"Mary-Margaret, can I ask you something," Regina asked.

Eyeing Henry nervously, Snow replied, "Sure."

The both headed about ten feet away.

"I really enjoyed spending time with him. I miss him so much. I was wondering, could he spend more time with me? Maybe stay the night?"

"Oh, Regina, I don't know. There is so much going on right now, it doesn't seem like a good time. But, it's not my decision to make. That's Emma's decision."

"She hardly knows him. He's my son. I was the one who raised him," Regina was on the verge of tears.

"He knows that and he loves you for that, but right now, it's best that he's with us."

"I've been trying so hard."

"We know that, and that's why we want him to be able to see you. But for now, it's best if we're there too."

"I shouldn't have to ask to see my son."

"It's just until we can figure out something better. Please, Regina, we have so many other things to deal with."

Regina hesitated, before wiping away the tears and saying, "Then let's take care of it so I can be with my son."

OoOoOoOoOo

"So how exactly do we know who to give each heart to," Emma asked, as they approached the downtown area hand-in-hand.

"Well that's the thing about having power over someone, they have to listen. So, even though they may not know which is theirs, if I tell them to take their heart and put it back, they have to take their heart. They will just find the right one. So if I had power over you and told you to go kiss your true love, even if you don't know who he is, you would still be forced to do it. You be drawn to him, until it happened."

"So like fate?"

"No. I don't believe in fate. We have control of what happens based on our decisions."

"So which decision led to Gold taking Milah from you?"

Hook's eyes darkened from aquamarine to onyx in a matter of seconds and his grip tightened on hers, "I crossed a line. I got too cocky, too greedy. I created a demon. We all create our own demons. The problem is, our demons don't just torture us, but can torture everyone. My demon took love and happiness from me and from so many others. It's not just revenge that I've been after, but to destroy the demon I created."

"You blame yourself for everything he's done?"

"No. I blame myself for creating him. But everything he did was to his accord."

"Maybe when you created the demon in him and he stole Milah from you, he created a demon in you too," Emma almost whispered, as she nervously glanced up at him.

"Aye. I've feared that too, love."

"Then maybe destroying him doesn't have to mean killing him. Maybe you can destroy the demon and not the man. Maybe you can destroy the demon in yourself and he can destroy the demon inside of himself. Maybe all you have to do is return the love and happiness to your hearts."

"Emma, I don't think you can come back once you let darkness eat your heart."

"I think if you make the right decisions you can. I did."

"Emma, your heart has never been as dark as mine," he stopped them, turned toward her, and glanced down at her chest. Trying to lighten the darkness that seemed to be swirling around them, he held his hand to her heart and added, "Maybe a murky coloring at it's worse."

Emma smiled at him and let the conversation drop. He didn't take his hand from her heart though, but continued to stare into her eyes. And Emma let him, until she felt her gaze dropping to his lips and then she turned back to the street. They were close enough to the square that she could see the cell and around it were Hook's men and the dwarves, looking exhausted, as well as Mr. Gold.

"Shit."

Hook turned to Emma, "Please, give me the magic I need. Let me finally destroy my demon."

"Hook, here is your chance to make the right decision and destroy the demon inside of yourself instead."

Hook began shaking Emma, "Swan, I need to kill him. He's going to kill me if I don't kill him."

Mr. Gold began walking toward the pair.

"No. I'm not doing it," she pushed herself away as much as possible.

"I did not wait 300 years to let him kill me. I won't let him win. He won't get away with killing her!"

"If you kill him, you won't be any better than him. And this is me making a decision for my life. And I will make the right one. Are you really asking me to allow my heart to get consumed in darkness so yours can finally be lost in it forever? You still have a chance to come back, to change. I've seen the good in you."

Hook was taken aback by what Emma had said. She pulled him from the trance that took over him anytime he came close to vengeance. He didn't know that was possible. What he did know was that Gold was only about ten yards away and he had no plan. And then Emma stepped in front of him.

"Gold," she called.

"Miss Swan," Gold greeted her, while keeping his eyes on the pirate. "I see you've brought me a treat."

Emma felt Hook tense behind her and grip her hand almost unbearably hard.

"Look, we're not looking for trouble. Hook just wants to return his men's hearts. Are we clear?"

"I didn't realize the pirate had to hide behind the princess," Gold laughed.

Hook motioned to attack Gold but Emma took Hook's arms and wrapped them around her, which made him hesitate and then allowed him to gain some control as Gold finished, "Let me make this clear though, Miss Swan, your scum is safe now, but once we finish the current situation with Cora, I may not have any incentive left to control myself. Don't get too attached to him," Gold threatened as he walked away toward his shop.

Emma held Hook's arms around her until she was sure Gold was gone and until she could feel Hook relax some. She then led him to his men.

OoOoOoOoOo

"Emma," David answered on his cell phone.

"Hey, so the crew have their hearts back and we set up a shift schedule."

"Good. I'm down in the mines looking for the spare key, but I haven't found anything. What's Cora doing."

"Currently? Trying to tempt Hook. I guess there's one good reason he's handcuffed to me. But I'm really worried. She seems too happy. We need to figure something out."

"Can you reinforce the cage at all?"

"I don't know how I did it the first time. I don't know how to use the magic. I'm not even sure if that's what it is," Emma said getting upset and flustered.

"Sorry. I should have known that if you knew how, you would have already. I'm gonna look a bit longer for the key and if I don't find it, I'll visit the hardware store and see what our options are."

"Okay. I'm going to try to sort things out at the sheriff's office."

"I'll see you tonight then."

"Bye," Emma hung up and turned to Hook. "Have you ever had a cheeseburger?"

**AN: So, I tried to make it a little longer since I abandoned you guys for so long. I hope you liked it. Review, please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry for taking so long. I've been really busy. I want to finish this story, even though it's taking awhile, so as long as people still want to read it, I will keep writing. This chapter is a bit plot-heavy, but there are a lot of things going on at once. I am also going to take some plot points from the show, but most of it is going to be my own. I hope you enjoy!**

"What the bloody hell is a cheese burglar? Odd name for something you eat, innit?" Hook asked as he played with a strange glass jar filled with a thick, red liquid.

"Cheese buur-geer. It's sort of a staple food in this – realm? Now shut up and drink your soda!"

"This _soda_ really sweet. What did you call it? Coke? And why do _you_ get this-" Hook paused to smell Emma's drink before she took it back.

"Oh, no you don't," she scolded him.

"Is that vodka? Why, sheriff, you're on duty."

"It's a screwdriver, a respectable lunchtime drink. And I need it to deal with you."

"Well, I need something stronger to deal with you."

"Didn't I tell you to shut up," she rolled her eyes and smiled.

Just then, Granny brought the cheeseburgers and a plate of fries for them to share. "Emma," Granny lowered her voice, "You need to be careful. People are already saying stuff around town about you and this – _disgrace_. I'm trying to snuff it out as much as I can, but this flirting isn't helping and, well – you saw what happened to your mother when the town stated gossiping."

"We're not flirting- I was just explaining our cuisine to him."

"And making me life miserable while she was at it," Hook quipped.

"Eat," Emma scolded him.

"Just be careful."

"You have nothing to worry about, Granny."

"This is delicious," Hook interrupted the women while shoving the rest of the burger in his mouth.

When both women looked back at him with amused and knowing grins, Hook's eyes grew wide and he stopped chewing, "Swan- you- you didn't have her poison me, did you?"

Laughing, Emma teased, "No. Unfortunately, I already told you guys that no one is dying. So just _trust_ me."

Granny patted Emma on the shoulder before heading back to the kitchen.

"Yes," Hook replied, "That's sound advice considering the last couple times I did."

"We made a truce, remember?" Emma nudged him as she took a bite of her burger.

"Right…" he trailed off as he picked at the fries and offered up some jokes as Emma ate."

OoOoOoOoOo

"I just need to look through and sort this paperwork. Can you just sit here and be a good boy until I'm done?"

"Well that doesn't sound like fun, now does it?"

"Hook, please. I just really need to get this done. I let you give your men back their hearts, I got you food – which you loved, by the way, and I'm trying really hard to be nice. So please, please, just give me an hour."

"Are you done?"

"Excuse me?"

"Emma, I was joking. I'll behave- for a price."

"Oh no," Emma groaned as she hit her head against her arm that rested on her desk, "What do you want?"

"Listen, I just want a simple deal. Offer me protection from Cora and Rumplestilskin and I will help you with whatever you need to take down Cora, finish this paperwork this paperwork, and anything else until then and after that, I'll be out of your hair forever."

"How am I supposed to protect you? I don't even know how to protect myself or my family."

"You have magic-"

"I don't have magic. It's just sort of there sometimes. I have no control and I've been around your people enough to know that all magic comes with a price and I can't afford to pay that price."

"They're your people too! And, Emma- your magic- it's different. It's not dark like other magic. The Dark One even said it. I've never seen anything so – unintentionally powerful-"

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT!"

"Or are you just afraid? Have you even tried?"

"Of course I'm afraid. Have you seen what it has done to these people? And what happens once we figure out what to do with Cora?"

"I told you. I'll be gone. You won't have to see me again."

"I know you well enough to know you're not going to let this thing with Gold go."

"By then it won't be your problem."

"But, here's the thing- I'm the sheriff. Unless you plan on killing me too, it will always be my problem. Plus, he has magic. He's going to kill you."

"My death will be irrelevant to you. I'll be out of your way, one less problem to deal with. And Cora said Rumplestiltskin is powerless outside of the town. I just have to wait for him to leave. And then you're not responsible for that either."

"If he leaves town, he loses his memory. He's not leaving town any time soon."

"Do you know why he's here Swan? Do you know why all of this even started? He convinced Regina to do all of this- the curse and everything so he could come here and find his son. Cora said the son is not here in Storybrooke- give him time; he'll leave. He'll figure out a way and I'll be ready. When you spend 300 years working towards something, you don't let a small obstacle like that stop you."

"If your plan is to leave town to protect yourself, why don't you just leave now? Then you don't need to do anything to help me nor would you need my protection. You won't have any – _obstacles_."

"I don't know what your problem is, Swan. I thought you'd be happy that I'm willing to help you and then get out of your way. Plus, Cora is almost as big of a threat to me right now as Rumple is- I betrayed her."

"I'm not letting anyone die. I told you that. But- I'm willing to negotiate your _deal_."

"What do you mean?"

"Same basic principle. You help me and I protect you as much as I can. But you don't kill Gold."

"And what's in it for me?"

"Revenge is lonely and 300 years is a long time to be alone. And no matter how much we tell ourselves that we are better off alone, we are not. I spent 28 years alone, thinking it was the only way to survive. But now I actually have a reason to fight. Just- stay here. Make a deal with Gold- a truce. Get a job. Make friends. Find something to fight for beyond revenge."

"I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO FIGHT FOR! I told you, you don't give up 300 years of fighting. Gold won't make a truce. And these people know who I am. They won't forgive me any sooner than they'll forgive the Queen."

"They forgave me for-" Emma paused, as she almost got sick from what she was about to say, "for abandoning Henry. And- it seems like Henry already forgave you and that kid is pretty convincing."

"Swan, it's been 300 years. How am I supposed to give that all up?"

"Find a new hobby?" Emma tried to throw in a joke, but it went unnoticed by Hook.

"What if people don't forgive me? You heard that woman at the diner- people are already talking about how awful I am."

"You have to give them a chance to give you a chance."

"That is a lot to leave to up to Chance, darling."

"Try something new. It's called trust."

"I'll start praying to Fortuna, then." A smirk flickered across Hook's face, causing Emma to smile. "So, what do I do with these papers?"

OoOoOoOoOo

"Emma? Are you in here?"

"David? Yeah, we're in here trying to get some of this paperwork done."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I didn't know how you had all these files set up."

"It's okay. There was a lot going on. Did you find out anything about the handcuffs?"

"Nothing to unlock them. I can use an axe or circular saw to break them apart."

"No! Emma- if anything goes wrong, I could lose my other hand," Hook said with a hint of fear in his voice, before controlling it and smiling tauntingly at David. He looked over at Emma and winked, adding, "Although, that does mean that you get to wait on me hand- _hook_ and foot? Then I really can't wait for bathing time."

Instinctually stopping her father from punching her… _friend? Business partner?... _Hook, Emma stood up with her hand against David's shoulder.

"David- not worth it. Hook, shut up! So what do we do about the cuffs?"

"Wait for him to digest it?"

"I guess so."

"Looks like I'll be picking up some prune juice on the way home. Oh, and Mary-Margaret wants to know if there is anything particular you want for dinner."

"I think we should let Hook experience pizza, plus Henry will love you forever for it."

David smiled, "Sounds good. Oh and I taught the pirates how to use cell phones. They or the dwarves will contact you if Cora's situation changes. I'm going to stop by again on my way home. I think you should too. You know, see if you can figure out how to fortify the cage or something."

"It's on my To-Do List, but David, I honestly don't know what to do. We need to set up a meeting with Regina. Maybe we can figure it out together."

I really don't like the idea of you working with her."

"It's better than against her. Plus," Emma joked, "I have Hook by my side. I can always use him as a shield if she goes crazy."

Chuckling, David hugged his daughter and said, "Dinner is at 6:00. Be home in time."

OoOoOoOo

"Done!"

"Thank the Gods. Swan, you have the dullest job I've ever seen. I think we are a week late for dinner."

"Hush. It's only 4:30. We have more than enough time to stop by Cora and maybe bring the men some food before going home for dinner."

Hook sighed before turning to Emma with his best set of Disney Eyes and asking, "Swan, your uptight father just checked on Cora, so I'm sure it's fine. Can't we just grab a pint and uh- get to know each other?"

He winked at her, which she responded to by pushing his shoulder and rolling her eyes, "I, unlike you, have responsibilities that go beyond myself."

"Right, which is why I'm happier. I'm free."

"Are you really happier?" Emma challenged him as she tried to read behind his mask of jokes, innuendos, and his drive for revenge.

Hook looked down, trying to change the subject and avoid eye contact, "This is all just a lot to take in."

Emma laughed, "I know. And it's not like I did much better in- what do you even call it? Fairy Tale World?"

Hook chuckled at the name she had given his home, "That's like me calling this place 'Odd Metal Contraptions World'. To us, it's home. The region you're from is the Enchanted Forest."

Emma laughed before taking a deep breath and pursing her lips.

"What are you up to? It looks like you're scheming, Swan."

She looked up at him and smiled, "I'll tell you what, it you help me get the guys food and deal with Cora _and_ we still have time, I'll get a glass with you at Granny's."

Hook looked skeptical, "Why are you being so nice?"

"Well, I just realized, if anyone is to start liking you, you need at least one friend on your side. And since no one else is likely, it's my duty to be your friend. Otherwise, I'd be breaking our deal."

"I never agreed to the deal."

"Really? Well, then you just did a lot of work for free."

OoOoOoOo

"Do you really trust these pirates guarding her? How do you know they wont turn on you and help her?" Granny asked Emma as she was filling the order.

Hook noticed Emma flinch. He could almost see the nightmare she had last night flash before her eyes. "I have control of me men. I have their loyalty. They'll do as I command."

"And you trust that _he_ won't turn on you, Emma? He's a pirate and I have seen his loyalty waiver between whomever promises him the best deal at the moment."

"I do trust him. That's what-" Emma hesitated, "friends do."

"Emma, this isn't safe. I thought you said I have nothing to worry about. What would your father say?"

"David can say what he wants, but at the end of the day, he has to admit that Hook has been nothing but helpful- well, maybe annoying, but helpful."

"Hey-"

"Look, just give him the same chance you're giving Regina."

"I don't trust her either. The only thing stopping me from getting out my crossbow is that your mother asked me to give her a chance."

"Well now _I'm_ asking you to give _him_ a chance."

"Emma-" Granny started before hesitating. But then she smiled and instead said, "Here you go hun, 20 cheeseburgers and six sodas."

"Thanks Granny." Emma hung the bag of burgers on Hook's hook and took the soda carrier herself, before having Granny hand the last two sodas to their bound hands. "Well, this is going to be a fun journey."

Hook leaned in and whispered, "I told you they won't give me a chance."

"Just give them time. And playing nice with my mom wont hurt either."

"I thought I was playing nice."

OoOoOoOo

"Regina, what are you doing here?"

"If she get's out, she'll go after Henry," Regina motioned towards her mother, "I can't let her do that and I don't know what else to do."

"Ms. Swan," Cora opened her eyes, coming out of her meditation, "You know I'm going to get free. I can see the fear in your eyes. Let me go now and minimum harm will come to you."

"Even if I believed you, I would never take that deal."

"But your pirate will as soon as he gets free from you."

Emma flinched at Cora's words.

"Swan, don't listen to her, she's trying to drive a wedge between our trust to make it easier to get to us."

Emma shook her head, "Let's just ignore her and give the boys their food."

After they distributed the food, Emma and Hook headed back, hand in hand, towards Granny's for that well-deserved round of drinks.

"Emma, wait," Regina called. Emma turned around. "I really appreciate you letting me see Henry today. Can- could he stay with me for the night? I really miss him."

Emma hesitated and felt a bit guilty as she responded, "Look, I don't think that's a good idea right now. Maybe once this all blows over-"

"I'm doing everything you and your family asks-"

"I KNOW. I know. But you have to understand how vulnerable your mother makes you. But- hey, why don't you come over for dinner tonight? It's at 6:00. I-It's just pizza, but- it's with Henry. And hopefully we can find a better way to – to do_ this_ soon."

"Dinner sounds great," Regina smiled, holding back tears. As Emma and Hook headed off again, Regina called out, "Thanks."

**AN: I hope you liked it. Sorry again for it taking so long. R&R!**


End file.
